Laurie Whitwell of the Daily Mailreports that the Blues are at the front of the line to sign Fellaini after it has become known that he has a £22 million release clause in his contract.L'Equipe is also reporting that the midfielder is headed to Stamford Bridge.

It's a move that makes a lot of sense for Chelsea.

Chelsea doesn't need much help in the attacking midfield department. The club already has Eden Hazard, Oscar, Marko Marin, and Juan Mata. The Blues' weakness is a little deeper in the midfield.

With the possible departure of Frank Lampard at the end of the season, there's going to be a hole in the Blues' central midfield. And even with Lampard right now, the club could use another midfielder who can play in front of the back four and hold his position.

The problem with Chelsea at times has been that the center of midfield hasn't been able to link well with the attack. There have also been holes in the defense as someone like Ramires would try to compensate for one of the attacking mids failing to track back.

For years, Fellaini was simply regarded as a defensive midfielder who knew how to get into a tackle. He was almost treated like a Nigel deJong, just without the karate kicks.

This year and parts of last year have illustrated that Fellaini is a midfield jack of all trades. Everton have placed him at DM, CM, and even CAM at different times in the season.

And it's not as if Fellaini has embarrassed himself, either. Regardless of the position, the Belgian has performed at a very high level.

It's the kind of tactical flexibility that Rafa Benitez would covet. Benitez could stick him anywhere he's needed in midfield, and he'll do very well.

The Belgian could even play as a centre-forward should the club be that desperate.

Fellaini's passing has improved by leaps and bounds in recent seasons. He could start an attack or hold the ball up and wait for Demba Ba or another player to run on to it.

His size also means that he could match up with almost every attacking player in the Premier League. And Fellaini makes the most of his physicality in the air as he can head the ball very well.

The Belgian plugs quite a few holes in a Chelsea squad that has some work to do to secure its place in the Champions League next year.